1 Cor. 3:18-23 - You Belong to Christ

18 Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you thinks that he is wise in this age, he must become foolish, so that he may become wise.
19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness before God. For it is written, "He is THE ONE WHO CATCHES THE WISE IN THEIR CRAFTINESS";
20 and again, "THE LORD KNOWS THE REASONINGS of the wise, THAT THEY ARE USELESS."
21 So then let no one boast in men. For all things belong to you,
22 whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or things present or things to come; all things belong to you,
23 and you belong to Christ; and Christ belongs to God.

No Bragging!

V. 18 - “Let no man deceive himself” - That is one thing we are really, really good at doing! No one likes to think they are as bad as they actually are. Self-deception is one of the powerful tools we use against our own best interests. (See: Gal. 6:3) Our pride and arrogance blinds us to our faults. (See also: Prov. 11:2; 15:25; 16:5; 18, 19; 18:12; 21:4, 24)

“Thinks he is wise in this age” - You may think you have all under control...

“Must become foolish” - It is time to reassess. If the non-believing world (“this age”) is telling you that you are doing the right thing by rejecting God’s offer and guidance - remember, the world’s wisdom is not God’s wisdom.

Stop. Re-think what you are doing. What is better for you in the long run, i.e., eternity? You may need to be “foolish” (as the non-believing world considers “wise” vs. “foolish”) and turn to the Lord Jesus, confess your sin and be cleansed. That’s the point you actually become “wise”, when you trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. (See: Prov. 3:5-8)

V. 19 - “the wisdom of this world is foolishness before God” - We think we are so smart. We are so scientific, understanding everything. We believe, we depend on SCIENCE! Yet we are so ignorant of the things of God. We look into the far reaches of the universe, trying to look back into time, to discover how the universe was made. We can’t even be sure, scientifically, when it was made. We have no idea, scientifically, how life started on the earth, how the animals came into being, nor humans. We have THEORIES! These are ‘scientific guesses’, masquerading as knowledge. (See Note 1, below) You may wish to reject the concept that God spoke the universe into existence. You are helpless in proving otherwise.

The physical universe is but a tiny part of what we don’t know about God. The areas of interpersonal relationships, of governments and governing, of peace and war - all of these, as we look at history show how little we know about what we are doing. Man’s inhumanity to man is not an isolated incident. It runs rampant throughout the world.

“For it is written....” - Quoted from Job 5:13. “He frustrates the plans of the crafty so that their hands cannot accomplish what they had planned! He catches the wise in their own craftiness, and the counsel of the cunning is brought to a quick end.” Mankind operates upon its own knowledge and power. We see what devastation we cause - human-to-human. God wants us to assess what we are and do, and He provides a better way. Our own wisdom and craftiness brings pain and destruction. God provides love and forgiveness. We want the forgiveness, but do not want to give it. Because we refuse to live by God’s standards, we live in pain and suffering.

V. 20 - “and again” - Quoted from Psalm 94:11- “The LORD knows the thoughts of man, That they are futile.” If the thoughts of man are directed by the Lord, the futility begins to dwindle away. Human futility seems to be a permanent feature of our existence, most likely due stubbornness and habit. God’s wisdom within us must be nurtured. It is not natural to us. Rebellion and rejection of God and His ways are more natural to humans.

V. 21 - “So then let no one boast in men” - Don’t brag that you were saved by Paul, therefore you are a better Christian; or vice-versa for Apollos, or Peter.

“For all things belong to you” - This seems to be an odd, off-the-wall conclusion. Think on this - if you have Jesus, then Paul, Apollos, and Peter are mere bagatelles (I almost likened them to carnival trinkets, but that is a bridge too far. But, yet, they are not Christ. Wonderful and as grateful as we can be for their faithful service bringing the message of salvation - they are not Christ.)

If you are the Lord’s own, because you have believed in Him and accepted Him as Lord and Savior - you have the mind of Christ. (See: 1 Cor. 2:16) When Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior, we have the Holy Spirit. (See: John 14:16, 26; 15:26) He will place the necessary understanding in our mind and thoughts when needed. Christ is not an ancillary add-on to our lives. He is not a repair job, where the dents are pounded out, or “bondo” is used to fill in and smooth over damage, a new coat of paint added to cover blemishes. He is not “part of our lives - Jesus IS our life.

The "all things" referred to here are not new cars, new houses, fancy clothes, money, money, money! All the things the Lord gives - peace, forgiveness, sanctification, redemption, salvation, God the Father, God the Holy Spirit, etc., - these are yours in full. How about love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, faithfulness gentleness, and self-control? Yours in full! (See: Gal. 5:22-23) How about whatever is true, honorable, right, pure, or lovely, whatever is of good repute, excellence, and worthy of praise? Yours in full! What about the peace of God, and peace with God? Yours in full! (See: Phil. 4:8)

V. 22 - "All are yours" - What a list! The eight items in Philippians listed above encompass all there is or may be. Paul expands on those here in this verse to include: People they know, people important in their lives; the world around them; life; death; now and not-yet!
“Paul, Apollos, Cephas” - These men brought them to Christ, mentored them in their faith helping them grow closer to Jesus.
“world” - Where they live, their towns, their family, neighbors, authorities, governments, etc.
“life or death” - How you are living now. What will you be when you die.
“things present or things to come” - Every thing you will experience in this life, or the life to come.

“For all things belong to you” - Repeated for emphasis. Paul says the world is yours. You have new life in Christ. This isn’t just slogan, church-talk.

V. 23 - “and you belong to Christ; and Christ belongs to God” - If  “you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” (Rom. 10:9-10)

In Christ you have life. See: John 20:31; Rom. 6:3, 8:9; Gal. 3:27; Eph. 2:5, 13; Col. 2:6, 3:1; 2 Tim. 3:15; 1 John 1:3. See, also: John 3:35, 14:12, 28, 16:10, 20:17; Matt. 11:27, 16:27; Mark 8:38,13:32; Luke 10:22.

If you have accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, you are His.

You are safe and secure. No one can take you away from Him. All power has been given to Christ from the Father. All power belongs to God - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Many people have the honor and privilege to serve Jesus Christ as missionaries, preachers, and teachers. Their job is to be the conduit through which the Spirit of God flows to tell the world of the love which Christ wants to share and bless the world. They are not the message, Christ is the message of hope and salvation.
It is important to realize that it is not just pastors and missionaries that are to take the Gospel into the world. It is you and me. We are to share the Good News of salvation in Jesus Christ to our neighbors, our towns, our nation. Our life is to portray Jesus living in us. We are to speak words of grace and hope to those around us.

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Note 1: I learned a couple of terms in my engineering career: one was "WAG", another was "SWAG", when referring to conclusions drawn. "WAG" is an acronym for "Wild-A..-Guess. "SWAG" is short for "Scientific-Wild-A..-Guess".
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End of Chapter

1 Cor. 3:16-17 - Temple of God

16 Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
17 If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are.

You Are the Temple of God, and Holy

V. 16 - “you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you” - The Tabernacle (from Moses’ time through David’s) and then the Temple (Solomon’s time until it was destroyed by Babylon) was where the Lord resided. (See: Exo. 40:34-35; 1 Ki. 8:11; 2 Chr. 5:14, 7:1-3) I do not think there is any reference to the glory of the Lord filling the several rebuilt temples, starting with Ezra/Nehemiah up through the coming of Jesus.

Do not misunderstand, God was not confined to the Holy of Holies room in the Tabernacle or Temple. But, except for relatively rare instances, in the Old Testament, God did not enter and empower individuals. The men who built the Tabernacle, or constructed the several accoutrements in the Temple (Ark of the Covenant, Altar, etc.), were filled with the Holy Spirit empowering them to do the work per God’s instructions. When the work was completed, the Holy Spirit no longer filled them.

The Holy of Holies, and God’s presence there would seem to provide ‘tangible’ evidence that there is a God, and He is with them. As if getting Israel out of Egypt miraculously, etc., was not enough! I suppose that people could say, “That was then! Where is He now, when we need Him?!”

This statement, “You are the temple of God...” has massive implications and meaning for the Jews, especially the Jews in that time period. They still had a Temple in Jerusalem. They believed God’s presence was to be found in the Holy of Holies, with the Ark of the Covenant, and the Seraphim. This place was so holy that only the high priest, after cleansing and offerings for himself, was allowed to enter. Jews from all over the world, not just Judea and Samaria, made treks to Jerusalem to present their offerings and sacrifices. Non-Jewish people also would understand, perhaps not in the same intensity, the importance of a Temple. I have seen and read in magazines and books the ruins of temples to the various gods and goddesses, (I have never been to Greece or Rome, etc.).  Temples are where you go to meet god. (That thought process lives in us even in our ‘enlightened selves’ - consider all massive elegant cathedrals or temples the various denominations and religious organizations have constructed.)

By massive implications, consider the following: No longer must you go to Jerusalem to speak with God, to offer sacrifice, to be cleansed and forgiven. God is with you. God is in you. The Temple and the various altars and tables and appliances had to be cleansed and purified before they could be used. (See: Exo. 29:10ff) The cleansing was always with blood.

You, personally, are now a Temple of God. You have been cleansed by the blood Jesus shed on the cross. By His death you have been made holy - holy enough for the God of the universe to be in you. No longer do you make a trek across land or sea to a place to meet with God, to be forgiven, cleansed and used for His glory. No longer do you need a certain man or priest to stand in for you - between you and God! God is there with you, there inside your heart, mind, and soul. You talk directly to God Himself. You do not need a pastor, a minister, Bible Study leader, elder or deacon to speak to God. You have Jesus, the Son of God, God Himself to talk to, to pray to.

Meditate on that, and allow the massive implication blow your mind. It is staggering, frightening, and wonderful.

V. 17 - “If any man destroys the temple of God” - I think this has a two-fold meaning: persecution of Christ believers, and being led away from your belief and faith in Christ by enemies of God. Enemies of God will try to destroy the person as well as the faith of that person. Coercion, jail, torture, murder - all of these and more will be used to destroy Jesus’ own. In so-called civilized countries, believers are pressured to abandon the faith, to turn their backs on Jesus in order to save jobs, reputations, homes, families. Sometimes the pressure is very subtle, but pressure none-the-less. In less civilized areas, believers are martyred. We have seen that very thing happen in the Middle East countries, in Africa, led by extremists.

“God will destroy him,  for the temple of God is holy” - Note that God does not destroy the believer, but the oppressor. Again, an amazing statement - you are a holy temple for the Lord! I look at myself, and am astounded the God considers ‘this’ as holy! Yet, God has not changed. God was Holy when He brought the people of Israel out of Egypt. He was Holy, and commanded the Tabernacle, and later the Temple to be made pure and holy for His presence. He filled the Holy of Holies in the Tabernacle and Temple when they were purified.

God is Holy, and always will be Holy. And this Holy God will live within you, making you holy also. That same terrifying presence is at peace in you because you accept and believe Jesus has shed His blood for your sins. You have been purified, sanctified, and made holy for the God of the universe to be in you.

God will bring every act to judgement. (Eccl 12:14) He will not be disrespected. You are His holy dwelling place. God no longer dwells in a temple, tabernacle, or cathedral. God dwells in us, in people. I do not know the extent of the ‘destruction’, nor when it comes about. I do know that I do not want to be on the receiving end of that wrath. Everything, everyone who rejects God and Jesus will be unholy, and will have no place in the New Jerusalem. Their names will not be written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.

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Note 1: The original Temple was built by Solomon, and completed about 957 BC. It was destroyed a couple of times by the Assyrians or Babylonians. Ezra and Nehemiah rebuilt the Temple between 515-444 BC. King Herod repaired and rebuilt the Temple in 20 BC. That Temple is the one Jesus worshipped in, and cleaned out. (Luke 19:45-47) That Temple is where the veil on the entrance to the Holy of Holies was torn in two when Jesus died on the cross. (Luke 23:45) Between 70-135 AD, the Temple was completely destroyed, never to be rebuilt by the Jews. (Islam has built a temple, the Dome of Rock, on the Temple Mount, and it still exists there now.)

1 Cor. 3:10-15 - Built on Christ’s Foundation

10 According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it.
11 For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
12 Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw,
13 each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work.
14 If any man’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward.
15 If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.

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I think that at this point in Paul’s letter, the emphasis is moving from “who led you to Christ?” (See: 1 Cor. 1:11-13; 3:4), to “Are you living for Christ? Is the Holy Spirit guiding your life so you are becoming more and more like Christ?” Paul and Apollos, or Peter, Titus, Timothy, or Barnabas - any of these evangelists can bring the gospel. They also can teach and mentor the believers as they grow in their Christian lives.

The message becomes more personal in that each believer must decide if he will follow the Lord.

The pastors and teachers provide the tools and materials for building your own faith-life. They cannot accept Christ as Savior for you - that is your decision. They also cannot accept and live out the teachings that will help you grow in Christ - those are your decisions. God will judge each teacher concerning the veracity of the message. God will judge each believer with respect to living out the faith. There is no corporate salvation - you are not saved because your family members have accepted Christ. You are not saved because you go to the church where others are saved. One of the problems the Jews had was that they thought they got a free pass simply because they were Jews.

No Other Foundation but Jesus Christ

V. 10 - “I laid a foundation” - Is Paul bragging here - “wise master builder”? I don’t think so. It seems Paul’s personality and temperament drove him to do the best possible job he could. Paul was a Pharisee, studied under a master Pharisee (Gamaliel - see: Acts 5:34, 22:3, 23:6, 26:5; Phil. 3:5). You get the impression he did nothing half-heartedly. When Paul was “in”, he was “all in”.

Here he is stating Jesus called him (on the road to Damascus Acts 9:1-6). Jesus taught him (Gal. 1:17).

The foundation of the church - Jesus Christ, who died for our sin, was resurrected to glory. Jesus Christ is God, the Messiah, the fulfillment of the long awaited promise, made to Adam and Abraham and the Jews and the Gentiles, of salvation and redemption. The key is “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Rom. 5:8)

“Another is building on it” - Paul moves us beyond a strictly local dust-up in a church. We need to see that the foundation of the church is holy - because Jesus is Holy (See: 1 Pet. 1:15-16; Lev. 11:44ff; 19:2; 20:7). Believers, whether Jews or Gentiles, were to be different than the average bloke who does not know God. Why? Because God is different - God is Holy, and those who are His are to be like Him - that is, Holy. One person may share or spread the gospel message, but another can teach and mentor the new believers in their Christian life.

“Each man must be careful how he builds on it” - Be sure, as you teach others about their life in Christ that you are not mixing worldly philosophy and mores with the pure Word of God. Let the Holy Spirit lead you as you teach and preach. Examine what is being taught - does it match, conform to the teaching of the Word of God?

V. 11 - “For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” - There is no other foundation - basis for salvation - other than Jesus Christ our Lord. Teaching some “Christ-plus” religion is not Christianity. “Christ-plus” is humans inserting themselves into the equation in order be able to do something to make themselves acceptable to God.

V. 12-13 - “If any man builds on the foundation” - Every believer is expected to mature in the faith. Pastors and teachers are used by the Lord to encourage that growth in faith. The images of gold versus wood, silver versus straw, diamonds or rubies compared to hay is to help us see not all teaching and mentoring are equal. Gold and silver are purified by heating them intensely - to the point that the metals turn liquid - so the impurities either boil off or can be skimmed, leaving only the pure metal. Wood, hay and straw cannot withstand the heat, and will turn to ashes. God’s judgment is a purifying fire. (See: Gen. 19:24; Exo. 24:17; Lev. 10:2; Num. 11:1, 16:3) But God’s fire also can be a protection for those who are His. (See: Exo. 13:21)

“Each man’s work...” - There are several phrases or words in this chapter that link together the ideas of believers in the Lord Jesus Christ are not to be static, but to grow and expand the faith. Consider the following:

“fleshly” (vss. 3:1, 3) - I think Paul is frustrated with the Corinthian believers. He is telling them there is little evidence that Jesus is in their lives. Jealousy and strife indicates they are not living with the power of God (Jesus + Holy Spirit) working in them. It seems they are living and acting as if Jesus had no place in their lives.

“God causes growth” (vss. 3:6, 7) - Do not rely on Paul, or Apollos, or your local pastor/minister to make your life more Christ-like. All change which draws you closer to God comes from Him. It is not your doing. Mostly we hinder God’s working in us, trying to take over and do it ourselves.

“foundation” (vss. 3:10, 11, 12) - Jesus Christ, our Savior, lived and was crucified, raised from the dead. That is our foundation. Christ stands before the Father and testified that you or I are His. We are forgiven our sins because we believe in Him, place our faith and hope in Him. There is no other foundation upon which we can base eternal life.

“each man’s work” (vss. 3:13, 14, 15) - Every thing you do.

“temple of God” (vss. 3:16, 17) - We, each believer and the collection of believers, have replaced the Temple. God resides in us, not in an edifice, no matter how magnificent that building may be.

V. 14-15 - “If any man’s work...” - All that we do will be judged by God. (See: note 1 below) There several references to the Lord likened to a ‘consuming fire’ in the Old Testament (See: Exo. 24:17; Deut. 4:24, 9:3; Isa. 29:6, 30:27, 30:30; Lam. 2:3). The image is that God is so perfect, so brilliant in majesty, that anything not as perfect as He will be burned. Similar to approaching too close to the Sun or another star. The heat is intense, as it must be to generate enough light to flow out to the planets and moons. God is even more brilliant, and therefore even hotter than the sun.

Our works, that is, our life comes before God. If it is worthwhile, it will survive. Similar to the way metal is purified. When gold or silver is heated to a liquid state, impurities float to the top and can be skimmed off. Only those works done in the power of the Holy Spirit will survive in the presence of the Lord.

And even if no works, things we do as Christians, survive the presence of the Lord, the believer will survive. All ‘impurities’ will be removed, and we will be pure and ‘golden’ before the Lord. Praise His Holy name.

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Note 1: I don’t know the extent of ‘judging of works” for those who do not accept Jesus as Lord and Savior. I suspect it hardly matters, because those who do not believe, those whose name is not written the Lamb’s Book of Life, are separated from God for eternity. We call that going to hell. I think there are hints that those who do evil will receive a judgement in addition to being permanently separated from God. I am not sure how much worse that could be.

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1 Cor 3:1-9 - You Are Fleshly

Chapter 3 Outline:
3:1-9 - You Are Fleshly
3:10-15 - Built on Christ’s Foundation
3:16-17 - Temple of God
3:18-23 - You Belong to Christ

1 And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to men of flesh, as to infants in Christ.
2 I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able to receive it. Indeed, even now you are not yet able,
3 for you are still fleshly. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men?
4 For when one says, "I am of Paul," and another, "I am of Apollos," are you not mere men? 5 What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave opportunity to each one.
6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth.
7 So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth.
8 Now he who plants and he who waters are one; but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor.
9 For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.

Don’t Be Trapped By Your Fleshly Desire

V. 1 - “I could not speak to you as to spiritual men” - The sentence could easily start with “But I, brethren...“. Paul just discussed how spiritual people could “hear” spiritual words and spiritual wisdom, because spiritual people have the mind of Christ. But Paul could not dive right into some of the spiritual instructions. He could not because they were not ready to hear them. (See: 1 Cor. 2:15, 14:37; Gal. 6:1) Just as you would not take someone who has only had a couple of golf lessons to Augusta to play in The Masters. The old adage, “Taking a sip from a fire hose” fits here. The believers could be overwhelmed and discouraged from continuing on.

“but as to men of flesh” - Paul sought to bring them along slowly and steadily. (See: Rom. 7:14-15) He will share the basics with them:

1. God loves you and wants you to have an abundant life here and now. 
2. As a natural man, you cannot meet God’s plan. 
3. God has provided the way for you to meet His plan for you. It is Jesus Christ as Savior. 
4. You can live the abundant life, if you will believe and accept Jesus Christ as your own Savior.

The deeper things, such as: resurrection of the believers; Christ’s triumphant return; Great White Throne judgment, etc., - these can be pursued and studied later, when they are ready.

“as to infants in Christ” - God knows and understands us. He knows that we must be taught in stages. Just like elementary school - letter names and sounds, consonants, vowels, letter combinations making single syllable words, sentences, paragraphs, and “War and Peace” (maybe that’s too big of a jump - perhaps start with “Dick and Jane” first). They were not ready for wisdom (See: 1 Cor. 2:6).

V. 2 - “I gave you milk to drink, not solid food“ - The idea that new believers need to be taught and guided is seen in other writings. (See: Heb. 5:12, 13)

“you were not yet able to receive it” - Too much, too soon can lead to confusion and discouragement. Without sufficient tutoring, the new believer can be misled, and end up taking a path that will hinder their growth and success in Christian life. (See: Eph. 4:14) Paul wants them to be successful, encouraged and longing for more spiritual truths. (See: 1 Pet. 2:2) He wants their attitude to be, “I can’t get enough of you, Jesus. May I have some more?”

“even now you are not yet able” - These Christians appeared to not be growing in Christ. They had to be reminded of the basic truths. It’s kind of like the question once asked of another person, “You say you’ve been a Christian for 15 years, is that 15 years of growth, or one year’s experience 15 times?” The writer of the letter to the Hebrews had the same opinion as Paul - they were not maturing in Christ. (See: Heb. 5:12, 13).

V. 3 - “for you are still fleshly” - Paul’s reason was not just a wild guess. He had plenty of evidence of ‘failure to thrive’. Their behavior was a good indicator they were not controlled and empowered by the Holy Spirit.

“and are you not walking like mere men?” - He is asking them to examine themselves, to “see” what everyone else knows: that they are not demonstrating Jesus’ power and abundant life.

"Jealousy and strife" - They are not “bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you” (Col. 3:13) Also they were to “Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.” (Eph. 4:32)

This is a theme that is also seen in 1 Cor 6:7-8, and elsewhere. That is: you are not behaving like Christians, but like unbelievers.

V. 4 - “are you not like mere men?” - The repetition of the phrase “mere men” emphasizes is they are acting like natural men, or normal non-believers. Position, pride, dominance - all are on display here. The Corinthians were focused on the wrong thing. They were very aware of from whom they had heard the gospel - either Paul or Apollos. Who preached had taken on more importance than the gospel itself. Salvation preached by Paul could save you, but salvation preached by Apollos could not! Things have not changed much in the 2000 years since this letter was written. We still divide into factions.

Here Paul goes back to the issue brought up in 1:10-13 - the arguments between the church members over who was the better disciple based on who led them to Christ.

V. 5 - “Servants through whom you believed” - Paul debunks the idea that the gospel from Paul is effective, whereas the gospel from Apollos is not! (And, vice-versa.) Apollos and Paul were merely (!) conduits through which the power of God came into the Corinthian believers’ lives. Paul says, “I am not the message! I am the lucky guy who got to share the message of God’s love with you!”

“Even as the Lord gave opportunity” - The same was true for Apollos - and any other minister, preacher, evangelist, missionary, Sunday school teacher, or Bible Study leader. The servant is not the message - salvation through Christ alone is the message. The messenger can impede the delivery, and thereby the acceptance of the message by misbehavior, etc. Our life in Christ, lived out in our daily activities, should never conflict with the message we are sharing with others. That is part of the problem the Corinthian church had, their squabbles, quarrels, and divisions was in direct conflict with the message of peace in and through Jesus Christ.

V. 6 - “God causing the growth” - Here, and in verse 9, Paul strengthens the point using additional imagery - first servants, then gardening/farming, and finally, building. Apollos and Paul are servant messengers who took the opportunity God presented to them. In this verse, Paul likens his missionary calling (and Apollo’s) to growing vegetables, or gardening. Paul plants the seed. Apollos steps up to water the plants so they will grow. But all that is useless if God does not cause the life to grow. Otherwise it is like watering a rock, and expecting it to grow into a diamond.

V. 7 - “neither the one... is anything” - God gets all the glory! Don’t glorify Paul or Apollos, because anyone could have done what they did. That being said, I am not denigrating the call by God to a missionary or pastor. And Paul places claim on his authority as an apostle to preach and correct the local churches in other writings. (See his salutation at the beginning of almost every letter he wrote. Plus he defends his apostleship: Rom. 11:13; 1 Cor. 9:1; 2 Cor. 12:12; 1 Tim. 2:7.) The Corinthian church was placing too much emphasis on persons of Paul or Apollos rather on Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Savior and Messiah. Jesus saves, not Paul. God justifies, not Apollos.

V. 8 - “each will receive his own reward” - Each person has his job to do, and will be recompensed for job well done (assuming that is the case). Faithful servants of the Lord will receive the commendation, “Well done...”! (See: Matt. 25:21ff; Luke 19:17.) We are to seek God’s approval, not man’s. We accomplish that by doing what His Holy Spirit directs us to do.

V. 9 - “God’s workers... God’s field... God’s building” - God directs us to spread His Word about salvation through Jesus Christ. You, the people around us are the field into which the Word is cast. Jesus builds His church from those who have heard, believe and accept Him into their lives. (See: Matt. 13:3-8, 19-23; Mark 4:5ff.)

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1 Cor. 2:14-16 - Natural Man Does Not Accept Things of God

14 But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.
15 But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one.
16 For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, THAT HE WILL INSTRUCT HIM? But we have the mind of Christ.

Be of the Same Mind and Spirit

V. 14 - “But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God” - A natural man is someone (male or female) that rejects God’s will.  (See: John 1:13) They refuse to hear, or understand (Matt 13:13-17; Zech. 7:11-13). The natural man does not listen, that is: obey God’s commands (Deut. 6:3). Their ways are not His ways (Isa. 55:8-9; Ezek. 18:29; Mal. 2:9).  Their minds are hostile to God’s way of thinking (Rom. 8:7, 27, 12:2, 15:5).

“for they are foolishness to him” - The ‘they’ in this case are the spiritual things. The truths given to us by God, through Jesus Christ and by the Holy Spirit will make no sense to person who will not listen to them.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote, “There are people who are mentally agile but foolish, and people who are mentally slow but very far from foolish... The fact that the fool is often stubborn must not mislead us into thinking that he is independent. One feels in fact, when talking to him, that one is dealing, not with the man himself, but with slogans, catchwords, and the like, which have taken hold of him. He is under the spell, he is blinded, his very nature is being misused and exploited. Having thus become a passive instrument, the fool will be capability of any evil and be incapable of seeing it as evil... Folly can be overcome, but only by an act of liberation... The Bible’s words that ‘the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom’ (Psa. 111:10) tell us that a person’s inward liberation to live a responsible life before God is the only real cure for folly.”
The natural man, the person without Christ in his life, will not understand the concepts of sin, forgiveness, heaven, hell, God, righteousness, etc. Why? These truths are spiritually understood.

V. 15 - “he who is spiritual appraises all things“ - The spiritual person can investigate actions and words to determine if these words or actions have value with respect to his Christian faith. Actually, everything can be evaluated. (Back the truck up - I do not mean the spiritual person can pass judgement on the Lord Jesus Christ, or His death and resurrection for our sin. That is way, way, way above our pay grade.) However, the things we are taught about our faith should always be compared to what the Bible teaches us.

This is not to be arrogant and lord it over people, especially non-believers. The Jews, after returning from Babylon, decided that God’s command to not inter-marry with the pagan nations around them was not strict enough, so decided to kick any non-Jew out of Judah, including wives and children. They would not buy food, etc., from Gentiles - that is, the “enemy”. They took the command against intermarriage and turned it into a matter of pride - they would not be like these heathen pagans, these dogs, human vermin. Instead of being a beacon showing the way to God, they became a barrier to prevent others from coming to God. We are not to be like that. Christ came and died for all - both Jews and Gentiles, alike. All are to be able to come to God through the Christ.

The natural man (our basic human condition) cannot understand or comprehend the worth and importance of spiritual concepts.

Because we have the Holy Spirit, given to us by God when we believe and accept Christ as Lord and Savior, spiritual concepts are understandable. We can judge and evaluate teachings and instruction, to decide if it is correct. I think there are concepts that we may know about, but not fully understand - our resurrection, our new bodies, when Christ will return, what happens when He returns (there are hints in the Bible, but that is as good as it gets).

The sentence indicating the spiritual man is appraised by no one indicates that this refers to a ‘natural man’ (unsaved) cannot possibly make value judgements about the spiritual man. I think this does not mean that if the spiritual man sins, the natural man will not notice the sin. The natural man cannot pass judgment, condemn him to eternal separation from the Lord.   

Also, I think the ‘no one’ does not include the Lord. He appraises ALL THINGS. All power and authority is His because He died and was resurrected.

Additionally, the spiritual man can only be spiritual if controlled and empowered by the Holy Spirit. If we make value judgments using our own intellect and reasoning, we will be acting no different than the natural man. We must be led by Christ through the Holy Spirit.

“yet he himself is appraised by no one” - Again, this does NOT mean the spiritual man cannot be appraised by the Lord. All authority and power is vested in Jesus Christ. The non-Christian cannot decide whether another person is sufficiently righteous to be saved. A Christian cannot decide whether another person who claims to be saved is sufficiently righteous to actually be saved. We may observe that another is not living according to scriptural principles, but can make no other judgment. (You may wonder sometimes, but that is far as your 'authority' goes.)

V. 16 - “Who has known the mind of the Lord” - This is a paraphrase of Isaiah 40:13-14. Which one of us is capable of teaching the Lord, of instructing Him in the correct way to go, of advising Him of the right or proper way of judging? Sometimes, secretly, we think we do know better. Fortunately, reason and reality arrives to wake us up.

A friend once compared us and God to ants and us. If we stand still and observe the ants at our feet, we note they pay no attention to us. We are beyond their comprehension. They are focused on their life and sustaining it. They will crawl over the toe of your boot, or around the heel to get on to where they are going. We are similar with respect to God. He is far, far above us spiritually and mentally; and we cannot comprehend Him on our own.

“We have the mind of Christ” - However, when Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior, we have the Holy Spirit, and He will place the necessary understanding in our mind and thoughts when needed. Christ is not an ancillary add-on to our lives. He is not a “new coat of paint” added to cover blemishes. He is not “part of our lives” - Jesus IS our life.

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Note 1: I think that verses 2:6-16 probably should be treated as one long paragraph, but that generates a very very long study section. So I divided it into three sections: verses 6-9, verses 10-13, and verses 14-16.
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